NATIONAL SECURITY ORGANIZATION RELEASES REPORT ON WATER ACCESS IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS
** Media Advisory for Thursday, March 6**
What: Teleconference to release new report, “Operation: Hydration - How Providing Water in California Schools Can Help Children Become Healthier Adults”
Who: Brigadier General David Brahms, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Dr. Anisha Patel, Assistant Professor in the Division of General Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
Judi Larsen, Program Manager, The California Endowment
Lourdes Perez, Board Member, Ceres Unified School District
Jake Ferreira, California State Deputy Director, Mission: Readiness
When: Thursday, March 6th, 2014 at 10:30am
Dial: (866) 576-7975; Passcode: 438494#
DETAILS: Brigadier General David Brahms, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.); Dr. Anisha Patel, University of California San Francisco; Judi Larsen, The California Endowment; and Lourdes Perez, Ceres Unified School District, will host a teleconference at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 6, to release a research report on the national security benefits of improving students’ access to clean drinking water in California schools. Dr. Patel will also highlight a resource guide available to help schools improve water access and intake. All panelists will be available for a question and answer session after the presentation.
It is estimated that 40 percent of 9th graders in California are overweight. The report, “Operation: Hydration,” will show that an estimated 65 percent of adolescents aged 12-17 drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage each day. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugar in the diets of both children and adults in the United States.
Increasing access to water in place of sugary beverages can help reduce obesity, which is one of the most significant barriers to young people joining the military. Yet, it is estimated that one out of every four California schools does not provide free, safe drinking water to students where food is served, despite state and federal laws mandating they do so.
Members of Mission: Readiness are speaking out in order to help schools combat the serious health implications that result from a lack of access to clean drinking water in schools and communities throughout California.
Local/county data on beverage consumption and obesity rates is included in the report. For an embargoed copy, please contact mmoroney@missionreadiness.org.
Contact: Meghan Moroney, 415-450-1913, mmoroney@missionreadiness.org
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